G2 advance to IEM Chengdu semi-finals over VP

G2’s stars shined bright to deliver the series in two maps.

"I can walk you through what was going through my head, but not what was going through this kid's head," Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen told the desk after the match when asked about the 1vs3 clutch by Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov that turned the tides. "It's insane! It feels like he is one with the game."

The praise was well given to the young star after G2 took out Virtus.pro in the IEM Chengdu playoffs in a two-map series on Anubis (13-6) and Overpass (13-10). It was him and Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač, the two stars, who shined brightest to push their team through to the semi-finals against MOUZ.

G2 made Anubis look like a CT-sided map as a completely discombobulated Virtus.pro could not get anything done on the theoretically easier attacking side. Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali and company were picked off, ran into stacks, and were generally behind against a CT side that was always a step ahead.

Virtus.pro made a small effort to bring the scoreline closer after winning the second pistol round, and a big mistake from G2 who took the B site but forgot the bomb in Mid allowed a decided round to fall apart. In the end, it was just a blip on the radar, as HooXi and company ran off with their pick 13-6.

On Overpass it was Virtus.pro who made a statement of their own on the hard side, the attack, switching the pace as necessary to keep G2 on edge and take a 5-1 lead. G2 didn’t let up, though, and won five on the trot to bring it back to a tie at the half. NiKo was on fire with 14 kills, but m0NESY found three crucial kills in the 11th round to turn around a 3vs5 situation into a round win.

It was again m0NESY, this time in the second half, who won a crucial 1vs3 to keep things even, 10-10, and swing the momentum in G2's favor in the dying rounds. Virtus.pro failed to keep up and the HooXi-led squad kept their dominance in head-to-head matches against Jame and company by winning out 13-10.

Date	Matches
IEM Chengdu 2024
13/04/2024	MOUZ 09:00 G2	Match

Up next for G2 is MOUZ, a team known to struggle when the games move from the studio to the arena. This will also mark a rematch from the Major, where the two met in the quarter-finals with Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas's men coming out on top 2-0.